2003–04 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season


Contributors to Wikimedia projects

Article Images

The 2003–04 season was the 105th full season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. They played the season in the Premiership, the highest level of English football. This marked their first ever appearance in the modern Premier League, and their first season in the top flight since 1983–84. The club had been promoted after having won the play-off final at the end of the previous season to earn the final promotion spot.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
2003–04 season
ChairmanSir Jack Hayward OBE,
then Rick Hayward
(from 19 December)
ManagerDave Jones
StadiumMolineux
FA Premiership20th (relegated)
FA Cup4th round
League Cup4th round
Top goalscorerLeague: Henri Camara (7)
All: Alex Rae (8)
Highest home attendance29,396 (vs Manchester United, 17 January 2004)
Lowest home attendance10,232 (vs Darlington, 23 September 2003)
Average home league attendance28,864 (league only)

Their return to the top level proved short-lived as the team struggled throughout the campaign and were eventually relegated in 20th place, finishing bottom of the division on goal difference, seven points short of safety. They were officially relegated after failing to win their penultimate game, although their vastly inferior goal difference meant that survival was effectively ruled out on 1 May 2004, despite victory, owing to relegation rivals Manchester City also winning.

Wolves became the third team in Premier League history to fail to win an away game during a season. Contributing to this outcome was a series of serious injuries to key players, with Matt Murray and Joleon Lescott missing almost the entire season and Mark Kennedy and Kenny Miller kept out for long periods.

Wolves split their squad into two groups, one led by manager Dave Jones, another by coach Terry Connor after assistant manager John Ward left the club.[1] Preparations also included a week's warm weather training in Jerez, Spain.[2] A planned friendly against Dutch side ADO Den Haag was cancelled on the day of the game after a water leak hit the venue, Telford United's Bucks Head stadium.[3] Only the final friendly was held at Wolves' Molineux home.

A total of 20 teams competed in the FA Premiership in the 2003–04 season. Each team would play every other team twice, once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. The provisional fixture list was released on 19 June 2003, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.[4]

30 August 2003 4 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–0 Portsmouth Wolverhampton
15:00 BST Report Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 28,860 (2,997 away fans)
Referee: Andy D'Urso

Final table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
16 Manchester City 38 9 14 15 55 54 +1 41
17 Everton 38 9 12 17 45 57 −12 39
18 Leicester City (R) 38 6 15 17 48 65 −17 33 Relegation to the Football League Championship
19 Leeds United (R) 38 8 9 21 40 79 −39 33
20 Wolverhampton Wanderers (R) 38 7 12 19 38 77 −39 33

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
38 7 12 19 38 77  −39 33 7 5 7 23 35  −12 0 7 12 15 42  −27

Results by round

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
ResultLLLDLLDWDWLDLDLLLWDLWDDLLWDLLLLDLWDWDL
Position1920202020202020191517171919202020202020191919192018171919202020202020191920

Source: Statto.com
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Key:
  ‡ On loan from another club   * First appearance(s) for the club

Correct as of end of season. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable.

No.PosNamePGPGPGPG     Notes
League FA CupLeague CupTotalDiscipline
1 GK   Michael Oakes 21 0 3 0 1(1) 0 25(1) 0 0 0
2 DF   Denis Irwin 30(2) 0 1 0 0 0 31(2) 0 5 0
3 DF   Lee Naylor 37(1) 0 2 0 3 0 42(1) 0 7 0
4 MF   Alex Rae 27(6) 5 1 1 2(1) 2 30(7) 8 10 1
5 DF   Joleon Lescott 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 DF   Paul Butler 37 1 2 0 2 0 41 1 8 0
7 MF   Shaun Newton 20(8) 0 2 0 0(2) 0 22(10) 0 1 0
8 MF   Paul Ince (c) 32 2 1 0 2 0 35 2 14 1
9 FW   Nathan Blake 10(3) 1 0 0 1 0 11(3) 1 3 0
10 MF   Colin Cameron 25(5) 4 2 0 1 0 28(5) 4 6 0
11 MF   Mark Kennedy 28(3) 2 3 0 1(1) 0 32(4) 2 1 0
12 DF   Jody Craddock 31(1) 1 2(1) 0 3 1 36(2) 2 3 0
13 GK   Matt Murray 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0
14 MF   Silas 2(7) 0 1(2) 0 2 0 5(9) 0 0 0
15 MF   Kevin Cooper ¤ 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
16 FW   Kenny Miller 17(8) 2 3 2 2 1 22(8) 5 2 0
17 FW   Henri Camara 29(1) 7 0 0 2 0 31(1) 7 3 0
18 FW   George Ndah 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 FW   Steffen Iversen 11(5) 4 1(1) 0 2 0 14(6) 4 1 0
20 FW   Adam Proudlock † 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 FW   Vio Ganea 6(10) 3 2(1) 1 0 0 8(11) 4 4 0
21 DF   Ívar Ingimarsson † 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 GK   Paul Jones 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 0
22 DF   Oleh Luzhnyi 4(2) 0 2 0 2 0 8(2) 0 0 0
23 DF   Mark Clyde 6(3) 0 3 0 0 0 9(3) 0 1 0
24 MF   Keith Andrews ¤ 1 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 1 0
25 DF   Isaac Okoronkwo 7 0 0 0 1 0 8 0 2 0
26 MF   Joey Guðjónsson ‡ 5(6) 0 1(1) 0 3 1 9(7) 0 3 0
27 FW   Carl Cort 13(3) 5 0 0 0 0 13(3) 5 0 0
28 GK   Andy Marshall ‡ 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
29 FW   Dean Sturridge ¤ 2(3) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 2(4) 0 0 0
30 MF   Hassan Kachloul ‡ 0(4) 0 0 0 0 0 0(4) 0 0 0
31 MF   John Melligan ¤ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 MF   Sammy Clingan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 FW   Jimmi Lee Jones † 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 MF   Ian McGrane † 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 MF   Marlon Walters 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 GK   Carl Ikeme 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
37 FW   Leon Clarke ¤ 0 0 0(1) 0 0(2) 0 0(3) 0 0 0
38 DF   Keith Lowe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Award Winner[5]
Fans' Player of the Season Henri Camara
Young Player of the Season Mark Clyde
Academy Player of the Season Kevin O'Connor
Date Player From Fee
7 July 2003   Oleh Luzhnyi Unattached Free[6]
8 July 2003   Isaac Okoronkwo   Shakhtar Donetsk Free[7]
9 July 2003   Silas   União de Leiria £1 million[8]
31 July 2003   Jody Craddock Sunderland £1.75 million[9]
1 August 2003   Henri Camara   Sedan £1.5 million[10]
1 August 2003   Steffen Iversen Tottenham Hotspur Free[11]
31 December 2003   Vio Ganea   Bursaspor Free[12]
25 January 2004   Carl Cort Newcastle United £2 million[13]
29 January 2004   Paul Jones Southampton £250,000[14]
Date Player To Fee
June 2003   Michael Branch Released Free[15]
June 2003   Kenny Coleman Released Free[16]
June 2003   Marc Edworthy Released Free
June 2003   Ludovic Pollet Released Free[17]
June 2003   Graham Ward Released Free[16]
25 June 2003   Mo Camara Burnley Free[18]
22 July 2003   Cédric Roussel   Racing Genk Undisclosed[19]
5 September 2003   Adam Proudlock Sheffield Wednesday £150,000[20]
10 October 2003   Ian McGrane Released Free[21]
23 October 2003   Ívar Ingimarsson Reading £100,000[22]
17 March 2004   Jimmi-Lee Jones Released Free[23]
25 March 2004   Nathan Talbott Yeovil Town Free[24]
Start date Player From End date
29 August 2003   Joey Guðjónsson   Real Betis End of season[25]
1 September 2003   Hassan Kachloul Aston Villa 16 January 2004[26]
12 November 2003   Andy Marshall Ipswich Town 12 January 2004[27]
Start date Player To End date
8 August 2003   Keith Andrews Stoke City 9 November 2003[28]
15 August 2003   Jimmi-Lee Jones Forest Green Rovers 15 September 2003[29]
3 October 2003   John Melligan Kidderminster Harriers 6 November 2003[30]
18 November 2003   John Melligan Doncaster Rovers End of season[31]
30 December 2003   Dean Sturridge Sheffield United 8 February 2004[32]
7 January 2004   Kevin Cooper Sunderland 18 March 2004[33]
12 March 2004   Keith Andrews Walsall End of season[34]
19 March 2004   Kevin Cooper Norwich City End of season[35]
25 March 2004   Leon Clarke Kidderminster Harriers End of season[24]

The season saw a new away kit, manufactured by Admiral, that was all black with minor gold trimmings.[36] The home kit was the same as the previous season. Doritos sponsored the club for a second and final season.[37]

  1. ^ "John Ward leaves Wolves". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 7 July 2003. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Setting up camp". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 17 June 2003. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Friendly called off". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 25 July 2003. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Premiership fixtures". BBC Sport. 19 June 2003.
  5. ^ "Player of the Year is announced". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 15 May 2004. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Luzhny fit for Wolves". BBC Sport. 7 July 2003.
  7. ^ "Wolves sign Okoronkwo". BBC Sport. 8 July 2003.
  8. ^ "Silas heads to Wolves". BBC Sport. 9 July 2003.
  9. ^ "Wolves sign Craddock". BBC Sport. 31 July 2003.
  10. ^ "Camara and Craddock in the spotlight". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 1 August 2003. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Iversen signs for Wolves". BBC Sport. 1 August 2003.
  12. ^ "Wolves agree Viorel deal". BBC Sport. 31 December 2003.
  13. ^ "Cort secures Wolves switch". BBC Sport. 25 January 2004.
  14. ^ "Jones rejoins Wolves". BBC Sport. 29 January 2004.
  15. ^ "Wolves axe Branch". BBC Sport. 28 March 2003.
  16. ^ a b "Retained list". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. June 2003.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Out of contract". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 5 June 2003.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "Mo makes Burnley move". BBC Sport. 25 June 2003.
  19. ^ "Roussel heads for Genk". BBC Sport. 22 July 2003.
  20. ^ "Proudlock joins Owls". BBC Sport. 5 September 2003.
  21. ^ "Midfielder leaves Molineux". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 13 October 2003.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ "Ingimarsson joins Reading". BBC Sport. 23 October 2003.
  23. ^ "Youngster leaves Molineux". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 17 March 2004.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ a b "Young players on the move". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 25 March 2004. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  25. ^ "Wolves seal Gudjonsson deal". BBC Sport. 29 August 2003.
  26. ^ "Wolves capture Kachloul". BBC Sport. 1 September 2003.
  27. ^ "Marshall joins Wolves". BBC Sport. 11 November 2003.
  28. ^ "Andrews out on loan". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 8 August 2003. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  29. ^ "Jimmi Lee Jones in loan move". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 15 August 2003. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  30. ^ "Harriers take Melligan again". BBC Sport. 3 October 2003.
  31. ^ "Melligan joins Rovers". BBC Sport. 18 November 2003.
  32. ^ "Sturridge joins Blades". BBC Sport. 30 December 2003.
  33. ^ "Black Cats sign Cooper". BBC Sport. 7 January 2004.
  34. ^ "Midfielder goes on loan". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 12 March 2004. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  35. ^ "Norwich seal Cooper deal". BBC Sport. 19 March 2004.
  36. ^ "New away kit". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 13 June 2003. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  37. ^ "New sponsor revealed". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 2 July 2002. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.